PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio and 94 WIP) — In this week's episode of TNT's podcast "The Steam Room," Sixers legend Charles Barkley reveals to cohost Ernie Johnson the — some would say hilarious — origin of his daughter's name.
It's not a tough one to puzzle out. Christiana Barkley is named after none other than the Christiana Mall in Newark, Delaware.
Overnight Tuesday on TNT, "Inside the NBA" previewed this week's episode with a clip in which Barkley explains the name to an incredulous Johnson.
"There's a Christiana Mall in Delaware that I used to always go by," Barkley said. "That's how she got her name, Christiana."
"Stop," Johnson said. "You named your daughter after a mall? Why?"
"I don't know. I just liked that mall."
"You're a mess, man," Johnson said, laughing.
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Christiana Barkley, who was married earlier this year, was born in 1989. Her namesake mall opened about 11 years before that.
Christiana, Del., derives its name from the Christina River, and that river is named after Christina, Queen of Sweden from 1632 to 1654. Apparently she was a big spender who nearly bankrupted the country, but she was renowned as one of the best-educated women of her time — which is not such a bad thing to be named for, after all.